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Originally posted by waynos
what amazes me is how we never learn. The story of the reciprocal visits, which proved to be nothing of the sort, is a direct repeat of what happened with the Miles M.52 and Bell X-1 in 1944, you would think *somebody* would have remembered the way we were stiffed over that one, but no, we did it again.
The policy (it must be, mustn't it - surely they aren't that incompetent) of destroying the indigenous aerospace industry has continued to this day, look at the state of BAe, they are now committing all to the American market (which of course means they'll have to move nearly all the jobs to the US). Airbus, well, look at the doubt that was surrounding the filton plant a while back.
The EF Typhoon? Considering the money & time spent on it - a pile of sh_t. Why? 'Cos politicans got involved.
The French went alone, and produced pretty much an identical machine on less than half the money... hmmm, I wonder why
The weather on the day of the first scheduled flight, 15 May, 1941, was unsuitable, but finally, at about 7pm, it broke sufficiently to allow the engineers and pilot, PEG 'Gerry' Sayer, to make the first flight. Some 45 minutes later, Sayer taxied to the runway and opened the throttle. It was a very anxious moment for Frank Whittle and the small team who had gathered to witness this historic moment. Many pessimists had been making gloomy predictions saying that the aircraft would behave like a firework rocket without a stick, For Carter too, the occasion was far more momentous than the first flight of a normal prototype aircraft, but his calm temperament hid any anxieties he had about the aircraft's maiden flight.
Sayer ran up the engine to 16,500 rpm, the maximum revolutions, while holding the brakes, then released them and the aircraft moved forward, slowly gathering speed. After a run of about 600 yards, Sayer eased the control stick back and took to the air, surprised at the ease with which the E28 handled. One thing that was very noticeable however, was the lack of a propeller and its associated vibrations. Being used to the roaring of exhausts of engines of hundreds of horsepower, Sayer found the aircraft was incredibly quiet, almost glider-like, a high-pitched whine being the only clue to the new engine's power.
One of two officers watching the E.28 take off was heard to ask "How the hell does that thing work?" His companion replied. "Oh, it's easy, old boy, it just sucks itself along like a Hoover!" Another was sitting in the Officer's Mess with a puzzled frown. When asked what was troubling him, he replied that he had seen a strange aeroplane "going like a bat out of hell" and that there was something odd about it, but he could not think what it was. After a pause, he said, "My God! chaps, I must be going round the bend - it hadn't got a propeller!" Another member of the official group of onlookers gave Whittle a slap on the back exclaiming, "Frank, it flies!" To which, in the stress of the moment, he replied curtly, "That was what it was bloody-well designed to do, wasn't it?"
Then the E28 was lost to view in the clouds, though the watchers could tell that all was well with the flight by the steadiness of the engine note. Sayer, making notes on his kneepad, continued the flight until seventeen minutes was up. This time limit had been imposed as only 50 gallons of fuel had been put in the fuel tanks to give the aircraft the best possible chance of getting airborne. Then after a couple of gentle turns, Sayer made a perfect landing and, grinning exuberantly, taxied up to the group on the runway. Whittle and Carter dashed to congratulate him, the joyous moment being caught on camera. In true British style, a rather understated notice in Gloster's design offices said, 'Last night a short flight was successfully completed.'
Fifteen flights accumulating 10 hours of flying followed in the next 13 days without a need to remove the engine cover. The aircraft reached an altitude of 25,000 feet, and with a full fuel load of 81 gallons, almost an hour's flight could be achieved.
Originally posted by thesaint
If im not mistaken didnt we do the same thing with the jet engine ie invite the yanks to take a look at our new toy then our own politicians stopped us from going further with it so the yanks went ahead and built a aircraft round it and hey presto!!!!!
I read somewhere that because it was a need for war at the time we also had to assist the yanks in completing our ideas with the jet plane
There's a story (no idea how true it is) that the UK sent Russia several jet engines after losing a bet.
If im not mistaken didnt we do the same thing with the jet engine ie invite the yanks to take a look at our new toy then our own politicians stopped us from going further with it so the yanks went ahead and built a aircraft round it and hey presto!!!!!
Originally posted by waynos
There's a story (no idea how true it is) that the UK sent Russia several jet engines after losing a bet.
Thats just a myth I'm afraid Zap, though you wouldn't be surprised if it were true after reading some of the things we did do
I understand the Eurofighter has to fly with concrete ballast in place of cannon due to changes in specs ?
The Eurofighter strikes me as quite a reasonable aircraft in itself, but over priced at some US$40m+ per unit